Blue Star Ltd is India's largest central air conditioning company with a network of 24 offices, 5 modern manufacturing facilities and 650 dealers. The Company was incorporated in the year December 20th; 1985.The Company is primarily engaged in the business of manufacturing and installation of air conditioning units, commercial refrigeration units, water and air purifiers and air coolers. It is also into distribution and maintenance of imported professional electronics and industrial systems. The Company offers turnkey solutions in MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire-fighting) contracting for buildings, factories, and infrastructure and heavy industry projects.The company has business alliances with world renowned technology leaders such as Rheem Mfg Co, USA, Hitachi, Japan, Eaton-Williams, UK, Thales e-Security Ltd, UK, Jeol, Japan, ISA, Italy and many others, to offer superior products and solutions to customers. The company has manufacturing facilities at Thane, Dadra, Bharuch, Himachal and Wada which use state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment to ensure that the products have consistent quality and reliability.Blue Star Ltd was founded in the year 1943 by Mohan T Advani. The company began as a modest 3-member team engaged in reconditioning of air conditioners and refrigerators. Within three years, the company secured the agency for US-based Melchoir Armstrong Dessau's air conditioning equipment. In the year 1947, the company was selected by Worthington, the US leader in air conditioning, as their India based partner.In the year 1949, the proprietorship company set their sights on bigger expansion, took on shareholders and became Blue Star Engineering Company Pvt Ltd. The company also diversified and took up agencies for Material Testing Machines and Business Machines. In 1970, the Company took up the all-India distributorship of Hewlett-Packard products.In the year 1977, Blue Star set up a joint venture with Al Shirawi in Dubai. An Industrial Division was set up in the year 1978, to complement their airconditioning projects and undertake turnkey industrial projects. Bharuch factory was set up in the year 1980. Also, they set up a software export unit at Seepz, Mumbai in 1983. In the year 1984, they made collaborations with York International of USA for central air conditioning equipment. Within three years, they made joint ventures with Motorola and Yokogawa. In the year 1988, the made manufacturing collaboration with Mitsubishi. An advanced manufacturing facility was set up at Dadra in 1997, in technical collaboration with Rheem, USA, to enhance manufacturing competency. The company set up a wholly owned subsidiary company under the name Blue Star Design & Engineering Ltd in November 2003 which provide offshore product design and project engineering services to the global manufacturing and specialized Architecture, Engineering and Construction sectors. In the next year, they sold 975000 equity shares of Blue Star Design & Engineering Ltd, constituting 50% of their holding, to Synergy Realtors And Services Pvt Ltd and ceased to be a holding company.The cooling products segment increased their manufacturing capacity for room airconditioners substantially with a new plant in Himachal Pradesh that went into production in May 2005. In addition, a modern cold room panel manufacturing facility was commissioned in October 2005. Also, the first phase of construction of a fourth plant at Kala Amb was completed and production commenced in May 2005.The company completed the first phase of construction in their fifth plant in Wada, Maharashtra and commenced their production in March 2008. Also, the company strengthened their projects business through the strategic acquisition of the business of Naseer Electricals Pvt Ltd, a leading electrical contracting firm in January 2008. The company is in the process of amalgamation of Admo Holdings Pvt. Ltd, Sunag Investments Pvt Ltd, Sunadhad Investments Pvt Ltd and Mohan T Advani Finance Pvt. Ltd with the company.In July 2008, the company was awarded an order from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation of Rs 104 crore for providing air conditioning solutions to 7 metros stations. Also, Airport Authority of India has awarded an order of Rs 8.1 crore for the total air conditioning works and building management system at their new integrated terminal building of Aurangabad airport.As on March 31, 2015, Blue Star Limited has two wholly owned subsidiaries; namely, Blue Star Engineering & Electronics Limited (formerly known as Blue Star Electro-Mechanical Limited) and Blue Star Design & Engineering Limited.During the year under review, as a part of the corporate restructuring exercise, the name of this subsidiary was changed from Blue Star Electro-Mechanical Limited to Blue Star Engineering & Electronics Limited, pursuant to approval granted by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, vide fresh certificate of incorporation dated February 27, 2015.The Company obtained approval of the members by way of a postal ballot on March 11, 2015 for the sale and transfer of its Professional Electronics and Industrial Systems undertaking to its wholly owned subsidiary, Blue Star Engineering & Electronics Limited at a fair price of Rs.110.50 crores, against consideration of issue and allotment of its equity shares by Blue Star Engineering & Electronics Limited to the Company. Subsequently, a Business Purchase Agreement dated March 13, 2015 was duly executed in this regard, in terms of which the transfer of the said undertaking was consummated on March 31, 2015, upon issue and allotment of 2,84,50,052 fully paid up equity shares of Rs.2 each at a premium of Rs.36.84 per share by Blue Star Engineering & Electronics Limited to the Company.During the year under review, the Bombay High Court vide its order dated December 18, 2015 had sanctioned the Scheme of Amalgamation of Blue Star Design and Engineering Limited with Blue Star Engineering & Electronics Limited and their respective shareholders and creditors with effect from Appointed Date of February 1, 2015. This amalgamation took effect from January 29, 2016 and as a consequence, Blue Star Design and Engineering Limited has been wound up.During the financial year, the Company had acquired 50% voting rights in Oman Electro Mechanical Contracting Co LLC, a company registered under the Commercial Companies Law of Oman, which was a 100% subsidiary of W J Towell & Co LLC. This entity was thereafter renamed as Blue Star Oman Electro-Mechanical Company LLC. During the year, as a part of the Blue Star Group's strategic corporate restructuring, Blue Star Infotech Limited (BSIL) sold its IT business undertaking to Infogain India Private Limited and divested its shareholding in its three overseas subsidiaries to Infogain Corporation, USA. In addition, at its meeting held on September 29, 2015, the Board of Directors had approved the Composite Scheme of Amalgamation of BSIL and Blue Star Infotech Business Intelligence & Analytics Private Limited (BSIBIA), a subsidiary of BSIL, with the Company and their respective Shareholders and Creditors, subject to applicable approvals from the relevant authorities and sanction by the High Court of Judicature at Mumbai. The Bombay High Court vide its order dated April 16, 2016, sanctioned the said Composite Scheme of Amalgamation, with effect from the Appointed Date of April 1, 2015. Subsequent to the financial year under review, the Composite Scheme of Amalgamation became effective on May 21, 2016. A record date would be accordingly fixed for issuance of equity shares to BSIL shareholders in the approved share swap ratio of seven equity shares of Rs.2 each in the Company for every ten equity shares of Rs.10 each held in BSIL.Some significant orders received in the electro-mechanical projects business during the year 2016, included Delhi Metro, Gurugram and Noida; Power Grid Corporation, Karaikal and Tumkur; Sugam Vanijya Holdings, Chennai; Omkar Realtors, Mumbai; Cancer Hospital, Lucknow; Apollo Tyres, Chennai and Vadodara; RBS Dev Centre, Bengaluru; Tata Steel, Jamshedpur; Manipal Hospital, Bengaluru; Lakeshore Hospital, Kochi; Mars International, Pune; Indiabulls, Jodhpur; Lodha Developers, Mumbai; Pradhama Hospitals, Visakhapatnam; and Cummins India, Pune.During the year 2016, the Company announced the launch of Blue Star VRF IV Plus, the country's first Made in India', 100% inverter VRF system which is well suited for the varying climatic conditions across the country. Blue Star's 4th generation VRF IV Plus has several unique advantages, over and above the requisite features, including 100% inverter compressors which is the latest global technology, 100% cooling capacity delivered even at 43C, non-stop cooling even at a peak ambient temperature of 56C, highest energy efficiency, and is designed to operate across a wide voltage range. The VRF IV Plus is manufactured at the Company's modern state-of-the-art Dadra plant. Blue Star VRF IV Plus has been well received by customers, and several orders received for this product during the year further strengthened its foothold in the fast-growing VRF market. Segments such as industrial, marriage/banquet halls, showrooms and offices witnessed enhanced demand during the review period. Some of the notable orders won during the year were from Ashoka University, Haryana; Hewlett Packard, Bengaluru; Estancia IT Park, Chennai; Sutherland, Secunderabad; Kalyan Jewellers; Ginger, Nagpur; HCL, Pune; Delhi Public School, Gandhidham; ThyssenKrupp, Pune and South City Projects, Kolkata.During the year 2016, Blue Star forayed into allied products such as air coolers and air purifiers to leverage its equity in the residential segment. It launched 5 models of air purifiers including models with HEPA filter with ioniser technology and plasma technology, for spaces varying from 200 sq ft to 400 sq ft. With regard to air coolers, Blue Star introduced 3 models catering to price conscious customers in non-humid areas of North and Central India for spaces ranging from 100 sq ft to 300 sq ft. During the year 2016, Blue Star added its presence in 5 countries viz, Kenya, Sudan, Vietnam, Iran and Tanzania. The Company participated extensively in international exhibitions such as Big 5 in Dubai, Big Show in Oman and Middle East VRF Conference in Dubai as well as in significant trade shows in other countries, which has helped in increased networking opportunities and enhanced brand visibility. It also published print ads in key trade magazines in the UAE.During FY16, Blue Star Infotech Ltd (BSIL), an associate investee company sold its IT business to monetise and generate substantial value for its shareholders. Having sold off the operating IT business, BSIL was left with a substantial cash corpus and a healthy lease rental-bearing commercial office property. Separately, the Boards and Shareholders of BSIL and Blue Star approved a scheme for merging BSIL and its residual Indian subsidiary, Blue Star Infotech Business Intelligence & Analytics Private Ltd (BSIBIA) with Blue Star to align Group resources. In April 2016, the Honourable High Court of Bombay approved the scheme for amalgamating BSIL and BSIBIA with Blue Star, with April 1, 2015 as the appointed date. As a result of this amalgamation, the FY16 financial statements of Blue Star include nine months of BSIL's IT operations as well as the sale proceeds of the IT business.During the year 2016, Blue Star acquired a 51% stake in Oman Electro Mechanical Contracting Co LLC (OEMC), a 100% step subsidiary of W J Towell & Co LLC, to form a joint venture entity called Blue Star Oman Electro-Mechanical Company LLC (Blue Star Oman).During FY16, Blue Star Infotech Ltd (BSIL), an associate investee company sold its IT business to monetise and generate substantial value for its shareholders. Having sold off the operating IT business, BSIL was left with a substantial cash corpus and a healthy lease rental-bearing commercial office property. Separately, the Boards and Shareholders of BSIL and Blue Star approved a scheme for merging BSIL and its residual Indian subsidiary, Blue Star Infotech Business Intelligence & Analytics Private Ltd (BSIBIA) with Blue Star to align Group resources. In April 2016, the Honourable High Court of Bombay approved the scheme for amalgamating BSIL and BSIBIA with Blue Star, with April 1, 2015 as the appointed date. As a result of this amalgamation, the FY16 financial statements of Blue Star include nine months of BSIL's IT operations as well as the sale proceeds of the IT business.During the year 2017, the Company allotted 53,91,383, fully paid up equity shares of Rs 2 each, to the shareholders of Blue Star Infotech Limited, pursuant to the Composite Scheme of Amalgamation of Blue Star Infotech Limited and Blue Star Infotech Business Intelligence & Analytics Private Limited with the Company.During the year 2017, the Company made an initial investment of Rs 5 crores in the share capital of its wholly owned subsidiary, Blue Star International FZCO, in Dubai Airport Freezone, a free trade zone in UAE to consolidate its international business ownership. In the Electro-Mechanical Projects and Packaged Air Conditioning Systems business, the Company focused on enhancing multi-service orders (mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire-fighting), which resulted in 48% of new orders coming from multi-service projects during FY2017. The business also gained inroads into favorable segments such as factories and educational institutions.Some significant orders received by the electro-mechanical projects business during the year 2017, included Sands Infinit IT Park, Kochi; Apollo Proton Therapy and Cancer Care Hospital, Chennai; Amazon IT Services, Hyderabad; '1973' by Omkar, Mumbai; Ireo, Delhi; Piramal Agastya Corporate Park, Mumbai; Embassy Tech Village, Bengaluru; HCL Technologies, Lucknow; Wipro Technologies, Bengaluru; Lodha New Cuffe Parade, Mumbai; Tata Steel, Jamshedpur; Thapar University, Chandigarh; Lulu Convention Centre, Thrissur; Sea Valley Resorts, Vijayawada; Alstom Transport, Saharanpur; ITC factory, Guwahati; and Embassy One, Bengaluru, amongst several others.In the central plant equipment segment, the company consolidated its position in the VRF segment with the VRF IV plus introduced. Significant introductions during the review period included Inverter Ducted Systems which help maintain precise internal conditions and offer power savings up to 20%, and the VRF Sprint with simplified pre-piping which offers ease of installation and service, making it an ideal choice in small towns. A configured series of screw chillers was introduced to meet customised requisites, with respect to capacity efficiency and other technical parameters. Blue Star launched strategic initiatives to enhance the equity of central air conditioning products as well as to manage and motivate channel partners. Specific programmes targeting architects, interior designers and consultants were pursued during the year 2017.During the year 2017, the unitary products segment launched a new range of contemporary and stylish room air conditioners for the residential segment, which comprises the largest range of inverter split air conditioners. In the fast-growing inverter split air conditioners category, Blue Star has launched precision inverter air conditioners, which enable setting the temperature in steps of 0.5oC and 0.1oC with the display in decimals, which is a first in the country. Improved operational efficiency across all functions as well as enhanced manufacturing and supply chain management resulted in healthy margins in the room air conditioners business.In the commercial refrigeration products business, the Company introduced new models of deep freezers in the curved glass-top category, along with a new range of visi coolers during FY17. Sales of deep freezers and bottle coolers grew well, with enhanced demand from the ice cream, dairy and frozen food segments. Significant orders were booked from co-operative players such as Amul, Patna Diary and The Orissa State Cooperative Milk Producers' Federation (Omfed) as well as from private customers like Havmor, Creambell, Hatsun, McCain, Dinshaw's, Lazza and Hangyo during the year. The market continued to witness enhanced demand for display freezers across businesses due to the expansion of frozen products and ice cream businesses, thereby driving growth for glass-top freezers.During the year 2017, the commercial refrigeration business entered two new segments; namely, the professional kitchen equipment space by introducing reach-in chillers and freezers as well as under-counter chillers and freezers; and the healthcare refrigeration market with the launch of blood bank refrigerators, pharmacy-use refrigerators, low temperature deep freezers and ultra-low temperature deep freezers. Sales of bottled water dispensers grew well as the Company enhanced engagement with retailers. Storage water coolers also performed well with a surge in demand from the education and manufacturing segments. Blue Star storage water coolers with in-built water purifiers met with good resonance from the market.In the cold chain business, traditional segments like pharmaceuticals and ice cream contributed significantly, with several leading players investing in cold rooms for their warehouses and distribution points across the country. The Company's customer list includes prominent pharmaceutical majors like Sun Pharma, Gland Pharma, Mylan, Dr Reddy's, GlaxoSmithKline, and Sanofi, as well as ice cream majors such as Amul, Creambell and Mother Dairy. The quick service restaurants segment witnessed mixed results, with some multi-national chains undergoing restructuring of their business models for India. Blue Star continues to enjoy a preferred partner status with most of these food chains. Despite a challenging scenario, the Company has gained a major share of business from fast food chains such as Jubilant Foodworks, Burger King, Carls Jr, TGIF, Hardcastle, Sbarro, Lite Bite, Nando's and Au Bon Pain during the year 2017.During the year 2017, the Company expanded its product line in the adjacent category of cooling with the launch of air coolers in limited quantities.In FY17, the Company launched 5 models of air purifiers during the festive season with high-end premium variants.During the year 2017, the Company entered the residential water purifier business with the launch of a range of stylish, differentiated and premium products. About 3 million units sold every year are electric, namely RO, UV, RO+UV and its variants.In FY 2017, the Company launched a range of 13 models, including colour variants, perhaps the largest by any new entrant in the category. These purifiers are highly differentiated and offer attractive features such as hot and cold water, touch sensors, electronic dispensing and filter change alerts. Out of the 13 models, 11 of them offer double-layered RO+UV protection to ensure that the water is absolutely safe and pure. As regards to distribution, Blue Star water purifiers are available in 80 towns with over 135 channel distributors including e-commerce channels and modern trade. The products have met with a very encouraging response in the market.During the year 2017, the Non-Destructive Testing business received good demand from steel bar manufacturers for supply of imported electronics integrated with locally designed and manufactured mechanics in the professional electronics and industrial segment. This business also exported ultrasonic systems with locally designed and manufactured mechanics to Canada. The Testing Machines business had success with customized plant growth chambers supplied to agricultural universities. The Data Communication business gained traction with significant sales of video surveillance equipment to the Armed Forces, for infrastructure such as court buildings as well as city surveillance. The sales of data and transaction security products for banks and financial institutions grew significantly during the year. The Test and Measuring Instruments business, which mainly deals with radio frequency, microwave as well as avionics test and measuring equipment, booked significant orders from the defence, space and aerospace sectors. Oscillographic recorders and phase noise measuring systems witnessed enhanced demand from the defence and space segments. The Healthcare Systems business registered good growth, with notable orders booked for CT scanners, patient monitors and colour doppler ultrasound systems.In FY 2017, the Company's Dadra Plant added the latest cutting-edge technology of the fibre laser machine to replace the conventional turret punch press for processing of sheet metal components. The existing powder coating plant was upgraded with modern powder coating technology to enhance process quality and productivity. The testing facilities of the assembly lines were also advanced, with the new inspection testing standards in purview.During the year 2017, a new range of energy-efficient, configured or mix-and-match chillers was introduced, which was received well by the market for its Wada plant. This factory also recorded a new milestone in production and billing across all product lines. The Wada Plant invested considerably in technology upgradation, which is essential for de-skilling in functions such as gas cutting and welding, resulting in quality and productivity enhancement.During the year 2017, the Global Product Sales business received good order inflow for a range of unitary products from various distributors as well as OEM customers in the International Business Group. The VRF IV Plus, which recently received the ESMA certification for the UAE market, met with an encouraging response. Blue Star's tank chiller has also received this certification. The Company also booked orders from the re-export market through its Singapore distributor.During the year 2017, the Company participated in international exhibitions across the globe such as Hotel Asia Exhibition in Maldives, Climate Abu Dhabi Expo in Abu Dhabi, Iran HVACR Exhibition in Iran, Big 5 in Dubai, HVACR Southeast Asia in Indonesia as well as Saudi HVACR Expo in Saudi Arabia, to showcase its wide range of cooling and refrigeration products, and provide a platform for its stakeholders to interact with consumers. The Company was also part of networking events in Sri Lanka, Maldives and Oman, apart from organising events in Qatar and Oman with its partners. Further, Blue Star also published print advertisements in leading newspapers and key trade magazines in the Middle East during the review period.During the year 2017, the Company entered into engineering facility management, which covers a wide range of operation and maintenance services to ensure efficient functioning of electro-mechanical utilities in the air conditioning and refrigeration service.In January 2018, BSE shifted Blue Star shares to Group A from Group B comprising top 200 companies based on several factors like market capitalization, trading volumes and numbers, track records, profits, dividends, shareholding patterns, and qualitative aspects including governance.In FY18, the Company launched 100 new AC models including 40 highly energy-efficient inverter split ACs. This stellar array ranges from 0.75 to 4.5 tons across 2-star and 3-star split ACs and as well as 3-star and 5-star inverter split ACs. Besides, the Company also launched a new smart customer-centric mobile application, which ensures enhanced comfort and offers personalisation at its best, in addition to its capability to remotely monitor and control the machine. This facility allows consumers to personalise their AC profile, group the ACs for better control, optimise settings as well as integrate this mobile application with home automation systems.In FY 2018, the commercial refrigeration products business witnessed good growth during the year. Deep freezers witnessed enhanced sales, propelled by a rise in demand from dairy, ice cream and food processing segments such as Havmor, Creambell, Amul and Hatsun, amongst others. The new models of varied capacities of glass-top and curved glass-top deep freezers introduced during FY17 gained traction among the frozen products and ice cream segments. Kitchen refrigeration products grew well with increase in channel strength and gained sizeable orders from the hospitality segment. The medical refrigeration products also saw an uptake of orders from science and research institutions. Ultra-low temperature freezers were supplied to IIT, Mumbai and Kharagpur, Vedanta Cancer Institute, Anthem Bioscience, Lambda Research, and Institute of Liver & Biliary Sciences. Storage water coolers performed well, backed by demand from industrial canteens and educational institutions. The sale of bottled water dispensers witnessed good progression with augmented penetration into the retail market.In air purifiers, the Company launched two additional models during the festive season with high-end premium variants, taking the overall count to 10 models. These new machines have a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter, which is equipped with ionizer and plasma technologies, for spaces varying from 200 sq ft to 650 sq ft.During the year 2018, Blue Star made significant progress in the residential water purifier business with a range of stylish and differentiated products across price points ranging from Rs 7900 to Rs 44900. The market for pure drinking water has been on the rise mainly due to deterioration in the quality of water, resulting in a spurt in waterborne diseases. The Company also launched a range of commercial water purifiers to cater to offices, restaurants, clinics, and other commercial establishments.